Time Out says

5 out of 5 stars

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(11)

3 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

5 out of 5 stars

Nose-to-tail eating from a wonderful - and well priced - fixture in the W2 dining scene.

St John in Farringdon has become something of a culinary academy, sending its graduates out across the city to spread the word. Hereford Road is run by one of those nose-to-tail champions – head chef Tom Pemberton has taken his use-every-cut training to this moneyed part of west London. His restaurant makes its intentions clear: the first thing you see upon entering the long, narrow space is the kitchen; if it were any more open you’d be eating off the chefs’ laps. Food takes centre stage here – and what food it is. Sit and wonder how the restaurant can manage to serve two courses for £13 at lunch as you tuck into hearty dishes like devilled duck livers with shallots, brill with roasted cauliflower, or onglet and chips. The slightly fancier à la carte includes the likes of kid’s offal and mash, or lamb rump with purple sprouting broccoli; the most expensive main is still usually less than £17. Down a small flight of stairs is a no-frills dining room, with rather austere wooden furniture (try to bag a booth) and only a large woven mural as ornamentation. Service suits the environment – it’s quietly confident and refreshingly laid-back. A wonderful place.

I have been eating at Hereford Road fairly regularly over the past couple of years and although I have had the odd poor meal, by and large the food has been excellent and the service very acceptable. The dishes are not over elaborate but always tasty and well prepared, often with unusual, but fresh, ingredients. My main complaint, as a regular, is that the only option for potatoes, as a side dish, is boiled. Nevertheless, we keep coming back and nearly always leave highly satisfied.

Had the best table under the sun roof and we arrived before the sun set so we had a nice evening seeing the sky outside slowly turned dark. Food was fabulous though we wanted more exotic food that night and were disappointed to know they do not have duck's hearts that day. Tried their fried calf's brain which was rather yummy, tasted like fried tofu. I loved the mussels cooked in slurping white wine (the first time I had mussels and there's no sand in them!) and a very generous portion too! Surprisingly, the service was tip-top for us even though the reviews before seemed to suggest slow/bad service. This place sure is worth a second visit.

Food was generally good but the service was terrible. The food came out really slow even when we were the only customers, and the sides we ordered were forgotten.
The manager said he will bring it later but never did, and not even apologetic.
For the price paid, would expect a little more decent service. Would not go back again for the terrible experience.

Although this place wasn't bad, it was really disappointing as I'd heard such great things about it. Service and environment were fine, but the food was just OK. I was expecting extraordinary. None of our starters, mains or desserts came close to that.

We went as a party of four. We all had wine, starters, mains, sides, sorbet, dessert, cappuccino so our bill was hefty. I mention this because, for what we paid, we thought the service was terrible. Too bad that the merchant doesn't try harder on service because the food was mostly fabulous. Out of the many dishes we ordered among the four of us, only the Wood Pigeon was substandard. It was quite rare but that was ok (tolerable but could have been a bit less bloody), however it was so tough that the knife could not cut through it without major sawing! Again, out of all the dishes, that was the only complaint. Most dishes were outstanding. Too bad that the service is so poor. We went on a Tues night so it wasn't overly crowded.

Last night was the second time I have visited this restaurant and both times I have ordered the belly pork, perhaps to see if it would be as good the second time as it was the first time, it was! It just melted in the mouth, I can honestly say that I have never tasted better. I accompanied this with the house white which was a lovely fruity number and very drinkable. My friend had the rabbit and she assured me that was very good too. Staff were very attentive and pleasant. I will certainly be returning and I may even try something else on the menu - maybe.

Love the place, location and decor. Food is quite good. Just a warning to people booking online: although the restaurant did not contact me about this, they told me halfway through our meal that because we booked online, we were obliged to give up our table after a certain time, shorter than for normal bookings. Maybe this would not have been an issue except that the service was slow and inattentive, so they were telling us to give up our table at the same time that they were finally bringing round the puddings. Really rude and arrogant, and I assure you it wasn't cheaper just because I booked online.

Terrible accoustics were usually forgiven as the food has generally been excellent, until now. Heavy handed seasoning, (way too salty in most cases) overcooked accompaniments and side dish choices unavailable early in the evening. Pleasant service but very slow. Sense of food being prepared with little attention or thought which is not how it used to be. Simple plates well executed - no more. Wine list good with a few unusual choices but on the pricey side. Although local, I wont be visiting anytime soon after generally very disappointing meal.
Resting on its laurels? whatever the reason, all is not as it was, or should be, at Hereford Road.